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Public Assistance-B

12 Oct

The programs for the elderly have been just as bad. Prior to Social Security, people worked until they could no longer work. Then they went in a nursing home or went to live with family. Social Security was meant for the few who could not work but were not in need of a nursing home. Now many people retire at 65 or even 62 so they can enjoy their retirement. As a result, a lot more people are drawing benefits and they are drawing them longer because many people live far longer than they used to.  That would not have been a problem if Democrats had not drained the Social Security fund to develop other poverty programs. The money paid in would have drawn interest and continued to support the withdrawals.  By draining the surplus, it forced the money paid in to fund current recipients and not sit drawing interest. That was not a problem at the time because there were more working than were  drawing Social Security, however the signs pointed to trouble ahead, but they ignored them. The fact that people were living longer and drawing longer, is putting a bigger strain on Social Security than the designers planned on. In addition, abortion has eliminated one out of three babies. That, and the fact the more women are working and having fewer kids means that fewer kids are coming into the work force. That means that fewer workers are paying into the system while more are drawing out of it.  That is putting an even bigger strain on the system which many predict will soon run out of money. In addition, Social Security has not kept up with inflation and many Seniors are struggling.  Their solution is to increase the tax on the rich to provide extra benefits to the poorer recipients. They ignore the fact that there are very few very rich and the added income will not cover the added benefits to the lower income recipients that make up the bulk of recipients. Since Seniors are more healthy and many could work ten to twenty more years, It makes more sense to support Republican plans to raise the retirement age. That way more workers will work longer and draw for a shorter time. While they work, they will continue paying into the system while not drawing from it. That would provide far more benefits because the number contributing would be far greater. The number of people dying increases with age so the age group with the highest number is just after retirement. It addition, it would help if the Democrats just returned the funds they took out for other social programs, including the interest it would have made if invested. The workers paid that money in expecting it would be there for them when they retired but Democrats betrayed them by spending it on other programs. Those funds would support the program for many years to come. The Democrats cry about how Social Security is running out of funds even though those on Social Security paid that money into the fund but continue to add  to the benefits that go to those on welfare who did not pay into it with no thought to the cost. If welfare benefits can be taken from the general fund, there is no reason that funds for Social Security can not be taken out. Seniors deserve it far more.

 

 

 
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Posted in Combating Poverty, Economics, Politics

 

Public Assistance-A

12 Oct

Democrats say they are concerned about social causes and care about the poor, the elderly, and the disabled and they work to provide safety nets. While that sounds good, the programs they have developed have caused tremendous problems. While private agencies help the needy on the basis of need, the government programs are based on eligibility. When I worked for the welfare dept., we constantly checked to make sure they fell in the income guidelines, however income is not a very good gage of need. A family with no income that got $400 a month  in assistance and paid $300-400 a month for rent had nothing left over for utilities. If the family owned their home, they could pocket anything left over, but would have to spend it so they didn’t accumulate more savings than allowed, so they spent it recklessly.  Both families met the qualifications but only one really needed that much. The same with Food Stamps. The family with a garden got the same as the family without, but one needed it more than the other. While Public assistance required recipients to look for work, many jobs they could have got did not pay as much as they got on welfare so it was often better to go on welfare.  They could still work and get partial benefits to make up the difference  but the program punished recipients for working by holding their welfare checks until they got the pay stubs and refigured what they were eligible for so their checks would be late. I encouraged my clients to find work to enable them to move off welfare but the other Social Workers would get after me because it made more work for them when one of my clients moved into their area. I figured the extra work was worth it if the recipient was able to better themselves. While the recipients would look for work, it was easy to keep from getting a job by making a poor showing at job interviews. In addition, the husband had to leave the home before the family could get help. That caused a lot of broken marriages as husbands left the home so the rest of the family could get help. There was no limit on help and children would grow up and go on welfare, which was easier than working. The “Welfare Reform & Upward Mobility Act”  restored the connection between work and assistance by establishing a 100 hour per month work requirement. There would be an exemption for single parents with children under age 6 but they would still have access to all vocational opportunities. It provides money to assist  with vocational programs for those having trouble finding work. Married couples could split the work requirement enabling them to juggle family and work. In addition, it put a cap on benefits so people could not spend their whole life on assistance. However, they put in a loophole so they  could shift a lot of people from welfare to disability once their benefits reached the limit. It did a lot to curb abuses but there is a long way to go. Many recipients are third generation welfare recipients and have never developed the work habits needed to get and keep a job. It will take a long time to retrain them to support themselves, but the benefits will far outweigh the cost of continuing to maintain them.

 

 
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Posted in Combating Poverty, Economics, Politics

 

Sixth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 8

11 Oct

Nurture Members-The church needs to provide regular visitation and supervision of its members to ensure they are growing in faith and love. It also helps the church to recognize when they have needs so it can minister to their needs. Most pastors are occupied with administrative duties and don’t get to spend much time actually visiting and ministering to their members and even working full time, the pastor cannot adequately supervise and minister to a church of more than 100-150 members. He must train and supervise workers to assist him just as Jesus did. They in turn will have their own small group who they are responsible for under the supervision of the pastor. The workers can get to know members and work closely with them to guide them in growing in faith.  The small groups should meet regularly and become almost like a family, who can nurture and minister to their members. Members learn by watching and interacting with older more experienced Christians and that requires regular meeting in a small group setting. Most churches have very little time together to help nurture younger Christians so many members grow very little even after years of membership.  -(See “The Living Presence” in “Rebuilding the Kingdom” by Lulu Press)

 
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Posted in Church ministry, Kingdomtide

 

Special Free Study Course #7

11 Oct

We are offering our course on The Church in the 21st Century for free for a limited time. The coupon is good until November 10 to the first 100 who sign up at

https://www.udemy.com/course/the-church-in-the-21st-century/?couponCode=27175C3

promo           https://youtu.be/5jh0JKly5sc

 
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Posted in Church ministry, promos, Study Courses, Uncategorized, Videos

 

Gun Control-B-D

05 Oct

Democrats say they are pushing for responsible gun ownership but have not pushed any legislation to promote gun safety and rely on limiting the availability of guns, which has proved a failure because criminals can still get guns. In addition, some bent on killing people have turned to bombs or other weapons when they could not get guns, though the media doesn’t report those because it doesn’t support their efforts to ban guns. The National Rifle Association and other conservative groups have been the ones pushing for laws requiring responsible gun use and safety training and providing that training. There is no public record of how many mass shootings have been prevented or limited by innocent citizens who were carrying guns and were able to take down the shooter before they could kill many people, because they don’t make spectacular news and would hurt the efforts of the media to ban guns.

 

 
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Posted in Violence and Gun Control

 

Gun Control-B-C

05 Oct

Democrats say they support gun control, and whenever there is a mass shooting, they ramp up their calls for banning the sale and possession of firearms. Everywhere Democrats control, they have pushed for banning or limiting the sale of guns. However, gun control doesn’t work because many mass shooters have obtained their guns legally because they had nothing that would show up on a background check. Background checks did not prevent them from getting weapons. Others got the weapons from friends or family. It also deprives innocent citizens of weapons to defend themselves while criminals can get free access to guns on the Black market. As a result, cities controlled by Democrats are the most dangerous cities in America because the criminals have free reign without having to worry about being confronted with armed victims. Mass shooters who have lived have said they chose a place where guns were banned or would not be normally carried such as schools, churches, restaurants, and concerts, so they would not have to worry about being confronted by armed citizens.

 

 
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Posted in Violence and Gun Control

 

Fifth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Oct 1

05 Oct

–Developing mutual concern-People were attracted to the early church because of the love they saw members had for each other. Our society has become increasingly isolated. Though surrounded by crowds, they are strangers and people withdraw into their private world. This isolation is seeping into the church as people drive farther to church and often do not see each other from one Sunday to the next. While many pastors and church leaders feel they have good access to knowing when members have problems, few members in most churches know each other well enough to drop the mask they wear to keep people at a distance and reveal who they really are and that they have needs. The lack of this concern is why there are so many in church who struggle with loneliness and depression and why there are so many in church who do things that hurt others. Many people who form the core of churches today are interrelated to others in the core of the church because their children grew up together in the church and married. When they have problems or needs, their family helps either directly or through the church. However there are many in most churches who are outside the core because they have only recently joined or their children had left home before they joined and often are not well known by those in the core. When they have problems or needs, the core of the church is often not aware of it and those in need are reluctant to ask for help. In a small church, where the pastor gets out and regularly visits all his members, he may eventually become aware of problems, however, in a large church, the pastor can not personally visit everyone so a deacon or elder board should divide up the congregation so each board member has responsibility for overseeing a portion of the church. (see “The Living Presence” in my series “Rebuilding The kingdom” for pastors and church leaders) Small group fellowships enable people to get to know each other and develop a concern for each other. Developing a concern for someone goes beyond merely knowing about them, it involves caring about what happens to them. As they get to know each other, they are more willing to share who they really are and that they have needs. They also begin to care about each other and minister to each other’s needs. People who care about each other seek to help each other grow and prosper.

 
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Posted in Body Ministry, Faith in practice, Kingdomtide

 

Politics-AB-AG

27 Sep

The proof is in the results. President Trump has pushed policies that have benefited average Americans and stimulated the economy in spite of continued harassment by leaders of  the Democrats. The leaders of the Democrats continue to push expensive programs that will strangle the economy and sink us far deeper in debt. Republicans continue to push laws to protect babies born after botched abortions and protect the American people from illegal immigrants, terrorists, and drug dealers, but the Democratic leadership continues to oppose them. The Democratic leadership seems to be doing everything they can to break down the protections we have in our election system and open it up to fraud in spite of Republican efforts to prevent them. The Democratic leadership seems to be totally out of touch with the American people but they don’t seem to care, they are determined to get their way anyway. Unfortunately, the rest of the Democrats are forced to go along or lose their campaign funds and they are supported by some Republicans which has made it difficult for the remaining Republicans to accomplish much. We are fast approaching another election and it is time the American people voted out those who are trying to take over the government through deceit and replaced them with people who will respond to the will of the people. The primaries are coming up next Spring and is where you need to choose the best people because if you don’t choose wisely in the primaries, all you will be left with in the general election is choosing the lesser of two evils.

 
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Posted in Economics, Politics

 

Politics-AB-AF

27 Sep

Democrats are accusing the Republicans of holding up the approval of the budget and risking a government shutdown, however they ignore the fact that they are also holding up the approval. Democrats have included massive new spending programs in the budget that will benefit different groups which they want to vote for them, but which will further increase the national debt and push us closer to government collapse.  It will also require increased taxes which will take money out of American pockets and result in less money to spend, resulting in a downturn in the economy. They refuse to give in and reduce spending to help balance the budget, Republicans want to have a balanced budget that will help reduce the national debt and allow for tax decreases which will leave Americans with more money in their pocket to spend which will stimulate the economy. The worst part is they are telling all the special interest groups that will benefit from the giveaways that Democrats are proposing that they will lose all their special benefits if Republicans have their way. Democrats appeal to the greed of the voters to gain support for their programs with no thought to the fact that those benefits are not sustainable. They also openly talk of the people who will suffer from a shutdown with no mention of the people who will suffer from the inflation that results and the higher taxes instituted to support those lavish giveaway programs. That doesn’t even consider all the people who will suffer if the government collapses and America is thrown into another massive depression.

 
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Posted in Economics, Politics

 

Fourth Sunday of Kingdomtide-Sept 24

27 Sep

Developing relationships-The days after Pentecost were days of learning what it meant to follow Christ in a community of believers. Many were attracted to the church by the preaching of the disciples and had not previously known each other so it was a time of learning to live with each other as Christ would have them. Our society values isolation and the church has fallen prey to it. As a result, few in the church really know each other well enough to admit to having needs. In addition, very few know them well enough to minister to them because they have not had a close relationship with them. People require more than an hour a week in a worship service to develop close relationships. Churches need to make a big effort to help members get to know each other. In the past, pot luck suppers were a place where people got to know each other but few churches today organize social times. Many churches today that still have social times are going to catered meals and eating at restaurants but that is only available to those who can afford them. In addition, many members do not know other members well enough to be open and honest so little socialization occurs in large gatherings. People today develop best in groups of less than 16 people, therefore the church needs to organize small group to help members get to know each other and learn to live like Christ would have them live. Short six week Bible studies are not adequate, it requires long term commitment to each other. (See “Living Presence” in “Rebuilding the Kingdom” (Lulu Press) for developing a small group ministry)

 
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Posted in Body Ministry, Kingdomtide

 
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